Blue X-Dreamer Mid Tower Case

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Kurtis Kronk
Brian
XPCases
Aug. 5, 2003

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Quality Check

When testing the quality of the case, I first looked at overall stability. To test this, I put a lot of pressure on the top of the case, attempting to twist it. Although it didn't twist easily, I was able to bend the metal a little bit. This is partly due to the fact that the metal is thinner than usual, as well as the fact that there are no corner reinforcements. This is a budget case, and as such you can't expect it to be built like a tank. Even though the case is made of steel, the thin walls cut down on alot of weight. I originally thought this case was aluminum because it was so light.

After carefully checking, I found all edges to be folded inside the case. Although you may not open the case up often, it is good to know that you will be safe when you do. You won't need any bandages handy while slaving inside this case.

As far as airflow goes, this case pretty much has it covered. In my opinion, you don't need more than the two (2) included fans. One blows fresh, cold air onto your CPU heatsink/fan, and one fan sucks hot air out from the top of the case. The front panel allows for quite a bit more airflow with room for four (4) 80mm fans, but the small holes for airflow reduce the effectiveness of the multiple fans. There is also room for two (2) 80mm exhaust fans (or a single 120mm fan) in the rear of the case.

Since this case boasts a couple of extra features, I decided to test the quality of those as well. First I looked at the stealthed bays. When you install a CD drive, first remove the stealthed drive cover from the inside pushing it outwards. Then proceed by mounting the drive from the front, and screw it in as usual. Now you will need to "ghetto-rig' the stealth drive just a little bit. The reason you need to rig it is because the button on the stealthed drive cover will not reach the CD drive button unless you push it in very far. This may not be true for all CD drives, but it was in my case. To counter this, you will need a little bit of tape and some paper. Just fold a small square piece of paper until it is about 1/8" thick, and tape it to the back of the stealthed drive cover button. Once you have done that, push the cover back into place in front of the CD drive. Now your stealthed drive cover should work just fine. Once you have got that working and go the idea of how to fix the problem, you may want to fix it more permanently, perhaps with hot glue or something. I will leave that up to you.

The other feature that I tested was the built-in temperature display. The display is backlit blue with clearly visible temperature readout. I decided I would try to change the temperature readout from Fahrenheit to Celsius, so I took off the front panel. With the front panel removed I could see the little white box that has the temperature display components inside. There is also text on the white box that says you can switch between degrees F and degrees C, but the switch was never implemented into this box. There was a little sticker on the box (before I ripped it off in search of the elusive, non-existent switch) that states that the temperature readout is displayed in Fahrenheit, and so it was! So my guess is that if you live in the U.S. you will get Fahrenheit, and if you live in Europe, for example, you will get Celsius.

Conclusion

Overall I really liked this case. It brings style and functionality into the budget-case world. The silver color of this case is very good looking, especially with the addition of the shiny steel fan grills and the blue LED fan installed in the window. The stealthed drives had to be rigged to work a little better, but it was very easy to fix them, and they look great. The temperature display is another great feature, but you won't be able to switch between Fahrenheit and Celsius because the switch is removed. The I/O interface is yet another great feature on this case, making it very easy to plug in USB, Firewire and audio devices. One thing I would have liked to see in this case is removable cages, though I still found it easy to install new drives. If you are looking for a cheap case that looks great and has some nice features and good airflow, this is definitely the case for you.

Pros

Looks great
8-9 total case fans
Up to four (4) 80mm front intake fans
Up to two (2) 80mm rear exhaust fans or one (1) 120mm exhaust fan
Two (2) included fans (one LED fan)
Temperature display
Front I/O interface
Stealthed drives
Lightweight even for steel
Outstanding customer service (XPCases)

Cons

Thin metal reduces strength
No removable cages
No motherboard tray

Extra Images

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Page 1: First Impressions
Page 2: Opening the Case & Inside the Case
Page 3: Quality Check & Conclusion

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8 User Comments

1 - Posted by Rich on August 5, 2003 - 8:56 am

Those stealthed CD drive covers look very similar to the ones on my Enermax case. Did you have any problems using the 3.5" floppy? I have found that some stealthed floppies can be hard to get out.

2 - Posted by fhetw on August 5, 2003 - 12:41 pm

thats a really nice case
i was considering it, but was kinda put off by the steel and huge window
however it still seems to be a great case and the price on xpcases is quite low compared to some competitors

3 - Posted by Kurtis on August 5, 2003 - 1:30 pm

the stealthed covers work well, except for the rigging part I mentioned

4 - Posted by Hippy on August 5, 2003 - 2:09 pm

Cool to get a new review :) but...

1) why dont you include a pic of what your reviewing at the top of the review? At first i wasn't sure i was on the right page and had to scroll down a page just to see the case. (minor quibble)

2) I also wonder if, had you installed a system into the case, the review might of contained more details. For all we know getting a mobo and gpu into it might be the biggest struggle since getting outa bed for work on a monday morning after an all-weekend bender!! (minor but worrying quibble)

3)
Hmmm for a tech review 'guessing' doesn't cut it. Maybe should have contacted XPCases and checked on this... but as stated on their site, (and this is something i should have checked on before posting...) XPCases ONLY deliver inside USA, Hawaii and Alaska SO is it even possible to get (this XPCases exclusive) an European version??? (big quibble)

Sorry :roll: but details, details and more details are what in my mind make a good, clean review. Doing a report on some hardware without testing its intended purpose to the fullest doesn't really help me understand if it'll be 'the one for me'.

Damn here i go being all 'testy', sorry guys!!! Will you forgive me??? Please nooooo!!!! Not the monkeys!!!! Arrrrrggggghhhh!!!!!

5 - Posted by Kurtis on August 5, 2003 - 2:17 pm

1) We do not put a picture at the top because if you read the title, you will clearly see that you are on the right page...

2) If you read some other reviews on this case. You will see that mine is every bit as detailed if not more. We do not stuff a system into every case we get because the fact is, all that stuff is standard. A motherboard will fit as will a graphics card and all that. If I don't make a comment about something not working, assume it does work, and if you think I may have missed something, just ask and I will check. In most cases, however, I look at every aspect of the case, whether I write something about it or not.

3) XPCases is not the only place that sells this case... This case is sold in lots of stores, some of which are probably in the UK. That is why there is a sticker that says F, instead of just letting you assume it is F. Although this case is XPCases exclusive, the only thing that is exclusive is the blue acrylic face, you can get an identical x-dreamer elsewhere that just doesn't have the same shade of blue acrylic face.

If you have any more questions, let me know and I will clear them up for you.

6 - Posted by Hippy on August 5, 2003 - 2:44 pm

:) thanks for the speedy reply.

I agree about the title thing, but the internet is so visual that i expect to 'see' what i am reading while i read about it... that make sense?

Ok i just did a little searching around for more info on this case, read another review and checked out other suppliers.

It seems (and on this i am being quite careful) that this version of the case is not 'ONLY@' XPCases - http://www.xoxide.com/blxled.html - and i base this off of the review that links right to this url. They also discribe the same plexi blue faceplate, case details etc...
Could you please confirm this for me Kurtis?

Sorry again if i am being an arse :(

7 - Posted by Kurtis on August 5, 2003 - 2:49 pm

when i say exclusive, i got that info from XPCases, i can not verify that the same exact color face is available elsewhere, however that is trivial. it is the same case essentially, and that is all that matters.

However, it looks to me that the xoxide case has a much darker shade of blue acrylic... maybe its just a bad pic, i dont know.

Are you interested in buying this case or something? Remember, the only difference is the color, so just find the color you like, its all built the same, just with a different front acrylic piece.

8 - Posted by BAZzZzZzMAN on October 5, 2004 - 4:04 am

Hi , I enjoyed reading the review about the blue x dreamer case and in fact went and bought one. However I am experiencing a problem and am hoping you can help me out, I need to know where on the motherboard one is supposed to plug in the various wires that come out of the rear of the front panel! And..what do the markings in fact mean? On each wire I mean. I would greatly appreciate any help you could offer a noob like me!! Many thanks!
Basil Simonenko

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